The Islamic Republic of Pakistan (پاکستان in Urdu), or Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia. Pakistan borders India, Iran, Afghanistan, China and the Arabian Sea. With over 150 million people it is the sixth most populous country in the world. It is the second largest Muslim country in the world and an important member of the OIC. It is also one of the few declared nuclear weapons states.
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| National motto: Iman, Ittehad, Tanzeem (Urdu: "Faith, Unity, Discipline") | |||||
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| Official languages | Urdu | ||||
| Capital | Islamabad | ||||
| Largest City | Karachi | ||||
| President | Pervez Musharraf | ||||
| Prime Minister | Shaukat Aziz | ||||
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 34th 803,940 km² 3.1% | ||||
| Population
- Density | Ranked 6th
188/km² | ||||
| Independence | August 14, 1947 (from the UK) | ||||
| Republic | March 23, 1956 | ||||
| Currency | Pakistani Rupees (PKR) | ||||
| Time zone | UTC +5 | ||||
| National anthem | Pak sarzamin shad bad (Blessed Be The Sacred Land) | ||||
| Internet TLD | .PK | ||||
| Calling Code | 92 | ||||
Origin of Name
The name was coined by Cambridge student and Muslim nationalist Choudhary Rahmat Ali. He devised the word and first published it on 28th January 1933 in the pamphlet "Now or Never." He made the name an acronym of the different states/homelands/regions, which broke down into: P=Punjab, A=Afghania (Ali's preferred name for the North West Frontier Province), K=Kashmir, S=Sindh and TAN=BalochisTAN, thus forming 'Pakstan.' An 'i' was later added to the English rendition of the name to ease pronunciation, producing 'Pakistan.'
Rahmat Ali later expanded upon this in his 1947 book Pakistan: the Fatherland of the Pak Nation. In that book he says that the acronym is as follows: P=Punjab, A=Afghania K=Kashmir, I=Iran, S=Sindh, T=Turkharistan (roughly the modern central Asian states), A=Afghanistan and N=BalochistaN. Another shade of meaning is added with the Urdu adjective 'Pak,' which means 'pure,' with the full name therefore meaning 'land of the Pure.' Use of the name gradually became widespread during the campaign for the creation of a Muslim state in what was then British India.
Currency
The basic unit of currency is the Rupee, which is divided into 100 paisas. One US dollar is equal to 60 rupees.
History
Main article: History of Pakistan, History of South Asia, Prime Minister of Pakistan
The country that is now Pakistan was part of India till August 14, 1947. The first proponents of independent Muslim nation began to appear during the times of British colonial India. Among the first of these proponents was the writer/philosopher Allama Iqbal, who felt that a separate nation for Muslims was essential in an otherwise Hindu-dominated subcontinent. The cause found a leader in Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who became known as Father of the Nation and eventually persuaded the British to partition the region into Muslim-majority Pakistan, and Hindu-majority India.
From August 14, 1947, until 1971, the nation consisted of West Pakistan and East Pakistan, separated from one another by India. In 1971, East Pakistan rebelled, and with the aid of Indian troops became the independent state of Bangladesh. Since independence, Pakistan has also been in constant dispute with India over the territory of Kashmir. Almost immediately after independence, India and Pakistan went to war over the state following invasion of Jammmu and Kashmir by Pakistani "tribals", and later wars were fought in 1965 and 1971 over the territory. Despite the numerous battles India and Pakistan fought, the status of the state remained in limbo. The Kashmir dispute has complicated relations between Pakistan and India. Pakistan has also had a dispute - relatively dormant since the Cold War ended after the withdrawal of Soviet forces - with Afghanistan over the Durand Line. Since the US invasion of Afghanistan, the viability of the Durand Line is of much greater concern to global security.
Pakistani political history is divided into alternating periods of military dictatorship and democratic civilian/parliamentary rule. Although dominion status was ended in 1956 with the formation of a Constitution and a declaration of Pakistan as an Islamic Republic, the military took control in 1958 and held power for more than 10 years. Civilian rule returned after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, but was interrupted in the late 1970s, with the execution of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who was convicted of murdering a political opponent in a controversial split decision by Pakistan's Supreme Court.
During the 1980s, Pakistan received substantial aid from the United States and took in millions of Afghan (mostly Pashtun) refugees fleeing the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The influx of so many refugees - the largest refugee population in the world - has had a heavy impact on Pakistan. The dictatorship of General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq also saw an expansion of Islamic law, as well as an influx of weaponry and drugs from Afghanistan. In 1988, the general died in an aircraft crash, and Pakistan returned to an elected government, ushered in with the election of Benazir Bhutto.
From 1988 to 1998, Pakistan was ruled by a civilian government, alternately headed by Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, who were each elected twice and removed from office on charges of corruption. Economic growth declined towards the end of this period, hurt by erratic economic policies associated with political corruption, cronyism, and patronage. Other adverse factors were the Asian financial crisis, and economic sanctions imposed on Pakistan after its first tests of nuclear devices in 1998. The Pakistani testing came shortly after India tested nuclear devices and increased fears of a nuclear arms race in South Asia. The next year, the Kargil Conflict in Kashmir threatened to escalate to a full-scale war.
In the election that returned Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister in 1997, his party received a heavy majority of the vote, obtaining enough seats in Parliament to change the constitution, which Sharif amended to eliminate the formal checks and balances that restrained the Prime Minister's power. Institutional challenges to Sharif's authority, by the Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and military chief Jehangir Karamat were put down, in the former case by storming the Supreme Court by party goons. The increasing authoritarianism and corruption of the Sharif government led to severe public dissatisfaction and culminated in a miltary coup by General Pervez Musharraf.
As of 2004, Musharraf has begun steps to return the nation to a democracy of sorts, having pledged to step down as military chief by the end of 2004. However he is widely expected to remain in effective control of Pakistan as its president until 2007, given the support of the Pakistani Army and the United States. While his economic reforms have yielded some benefits, the social reform programs appear to have run into resistance. Musharraf's power is threatened by Islamic fundamentalists who have grown in strength since the September 11, 2001 attacks and who are particularly angered by Musharraf's close political and military alliance with the United States.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Pakistan
Political Parties
Pakistan has two mainstream parties, the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League. In addition, it has a number of other large or politically significant parties.
Form of Government
Officially a federal republic, and intermittently democratic, Pakistan has had a long history of military dictatorships including General Ayub Khan in the 1960s, General Zia ul Haq in the 1980s, and General Pervez Musharraf from 1999. General elections were held in October 2002. On May 22, 2004, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group re-admitted Pakistan into the Commonwealth, formally acknowledging its progress in returning to democracy.
Recent Political History
In October 1999, General Pervez Musharraf overthrew the civilian government after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif allegedly hijacked the commercial airliner on which Musharraf was travelling, and attempted to thwart its landing at Karachi. Musharraf assumed executive authority. Local government elections were held in 2000. Musharraf declared himself president in 2001. A national referendum was held in April 2002 to approve Musharraf's role as president. Nation-wide parliamentary elections were held in 2002 with Zafarullah Khan Jamali of the Pakistan Muslim League party emerging as Prime Minister. After over a year of political wrangling in the bicameral legislature, Musharraf struck a compromise with some of his Parliamentary opponents, giving his supporters the two-thirds majority vote required to amend the constitution in December 2003. A parliamentary electoral college - consisting of the National Assembly and Senate and the provincial assemblies - gave Musharraf a vote of confidence[1] on January 1, 2004, thereby legitimizing his presidency until 2007. Jamali resigned on June 26, 2004. PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain became interim PM, and was succeeded by Finance minister and former Citibank VP Shaukat Aziz, who became Prime Minister on August 28, 2004.
Subdivisions
Main article: Subdivisions of Pakistan, Districts of Pakistan
Pakistan has 4 provinces, 2 territories, and also administers parts of Kashmir. The provinces are further subdivided into a total of 105 districts.
Provinces:
Territories:
Pakistani-administered portions of Jammu and Kashmir region:
- Azad Kashmir (Azad means "free" in Urdu)
- Northern Areas
Azad Kashmir has its own democratic government where Azad-Kashmiris elect their own president and prime minister to run the state. It is more or less an independant state within Pakistan.
Geography
Main article: Geography of Pakistan
Pakistan has a total area of 803,940 square kilometers, slightly greater than France and the United Kingdom put together.
Pakistan is located in South Asia. To the south is the Arabian Sea, with 1,046 km of Pakistani coastline. To Pakistan's east is India, which has a 2,912 km border with Pakistan. To its west is Iran, which has a 909 km border with Pakistan. To Pakistan's northwest lies Afghanistan, with a shared border of 2,430 km. China is towards the northeast and has a 523 km border with Pakistan.
The main waterway of Pakistan is the Indus River that begins in China, and runs nearly the entire length of Pakistan, flowing through all of Pakistan's provinces except Baluchistan. Several major rivers, interconnected by the world's largest system of agricultural canals, join the Indus before it discharges into the Arabian Sea.
The northern and western areas of Pakistan are mountainous. Pakistani administered areas of Kashmir contain some of the highest mountains in the world, including the second tallest, K-2. Northern Pakistan tends to receive more rainfall than the southern parts of the country, and has some areas of preserved moist temperate forest. In the southeast, Pakistan's border with India passes through a flat desert, called the Cholistan or Thal Desert. West-central Baluchistan has a high desert plateau, bordered by low mountain ranges. Most of the Punjab, and parts of Sindh, are fertile plains where agriculture is of great importance.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Pakistan
Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world, faced with a number of challenges on the political and economic fronts. Historically, a confrontation with neighboring India has resulted in a costly negative perception of Pakistan, especially in Western countries, resulting in a dearth of foreign direct investment (FDI). However, Pakistan's economic outlook has brightened in recent years in conjunction with a great improvement in its foreign exchange position, notably its current-account surplus and rapid growth in hard currency reserves. Additionally, the reduced tensions with India and the ongoing peace process raise new hopes for a prosperous and stable South Asia.
Pakistan's economy, once thought to be highly vulnerable to external and internal shocks, was unexpectedly resilient in the face of adverse events such as the Asian financial crisis, global recession, drought, the post-9/11 military action in Afghanistan, and tensions with India. In the two-and-a half year period since the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan's KSE-100 stock exchange index has been the best-performing in the world. Of late, Pakistan's manufacturing sector has experienced double-digit growth, with large-scale manufacturing growing by 18% in 2003. A reduction in the fiscal deficit has resulted in less government borrowing in the domestic money market, lower interest rates, and an expansion in private-sector lending to businesses and consumers.
Pakistan's economy has also been somewhat resilient over the long term, not having experienced a year-over-year decline in its overall economic output (GDP) since 1951.
The Government of Pakistan has, over the last few years, granted numerous incentives to technology companies wishing to do business in Pakistan. A combination of decade-plus tax holidays, zero duties on computer imports, government incentives for venture capital and a variety of programs for subsidizing technical education, have lent great impetus to the fledgling Information Technology industry. Many of Pakistan's technology companies supply software and services to the world's largest corporations.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Pakistan
Pakistan has the world's sixth largest population. This, coupled with a high growth rate, means that Pakistan is expected to overtake other nations in population in the near future, and may become the third-most populous nation by 2050 if population-control measures fail. The majority of the people of Pakistan are Sunni Muslim, with a sizeable minority of Shiite Muslims. A small minority of non-Muslims exist, mostly Christians, Hindus, and smaller groups of Buddhists and animists in the remote Northern Areas.
Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and English is the official language. English is used in government and corporate business, and by the educated urban elite. Public universities use English as the medium of instruction. Urdu is the lingua franca of the people. Besides these, nearly all Pakistanis speak mutually related Indo-European languages, of which the most widely spoken is Punjabi, followed by Sindhi, Pashto and Balochi. Punjabis compose the largest ethnic group in the nation. Other important ethnic groups include: Sindhis, Pashtun, Balochis, and Muhajirs. There are also sizeable numbers of other immigrant groups such as Bengalis that are concentrated in Karachi.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Pakistan
Pakistan has a very rich cultural and traditional background going back to Indus Valley Civilization, 2800 BC–1800 BC. The region that is now Pakistan has in the past been invaded and occupied by many different peoples, including White Huns, Persians, Arabs, Turks, Mongols and various Eurasian groups. Thus modern Pakistani culture has its origins in the mixture of many cultures. There are differences in culture among the different ethnic groups in matters such as dress, food, and religion, especially where pre-Islamic customs differ from Islamic practices.
Despite tense relations with India, Indian movies are popular in Pakistan. Ironically, Indian films are officially illegal, but they can easily be found across Pakistan. An indigenous movie industry exists in Pakistan, and is known as Lollywood, producing over forty feature-length films a year. Music is also very popular in Pakistan, and ranges from traditional styles (such as Qawwali ) to more modern groups that try to fuse traditional Pakistani music with western music.
Increasing globalization has increased the influence of "Western culture" in Pakistan, especially among the affluent, who have easy access to Western products, television, media, and food. Many Western food chains have established themselves in Pakistan, and are found in the major cities. At the same time, there is also a reactionary movement within Pakistan that wants to turn away from Western influences, and this has manifested itself in a return to more traditional roots, often conflated with Islam.
A large Pakistani diaspora exists, especially in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia as well as in the Scandinavian nations. A large number of Pakistanis are also living in the Middle east. These emigrants and their children influence Pakistan culturally and economically, by travelling to Pakistan, and especially by returning or investing there.
The most popular sport in Pakistan is cricket, and large amounts of Pakistanis gather around TV sets to watch the Pakistani team play in international competitions, especially against Pakistan's rival India. Pakistan has one of the top teams in international cricket, one that won the World Cup in 1992. Hockey is also an important sport in Pakistan, Pakistan having won the gold medal at the Olympics a number of times in the sport. Squash is another sport that has a large following. Football is played in Pakistan as well, but is not very popular. Polo is believed to have originated in the Northern parts of Pakistan, and continues to be an important sport there with large competitions throughout the year.
Shopping is a hugely popular pastime for most well-to-do Pakistanis. The cities of Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Islamabad, Faisalabad and Quetta are especially known for the great contrast in shopping experiences - from burgeoning bazars to modern multi-storey shopping malls. In particular, Lahore and Karachi are peppered with colourful plazas that house hundreds of technology shops. Most of these are small stores, offering mind-boggling bargains and repair services for almost any computer or technology product. The tech enthusiast finds everything from the latest mobile phones, to extremely inexpensive CDs and DVDs. Lahore's most famous tech-bazaar is the Hafeez Center, located on the Gulberg Main Boulevard.
Miscellaneous topics
- PAKISTAN IN THE CYBER AGE
- 2004 in Pakistan
- Communications in Pakistan
- Transportation in Pakistan
- Military of Pakistan
- Foreign relations of Pakistan
- Indo-Pakistani Wars
- Inter-Services Intelligence
- List of cities in Pakistan
- Pakistan has some of the most important Sikh historical temples on its soil. See Gurdwaras in Pakistan